Assefa and Areb take Hawassa Half victories

Hawassa, EthiopiaHabtamu Assefa and Zeytuna Areb scooped the top prizes at the 3rd edition of the Every One Half Marathon Races staged at Haile Resort in Hawassa on Sunday.

Areb, a member of the Federal Prisons club and who trains alongside Dire Tune and Teyba Erkesso, won in a time of 1:13:40. Assefa, who has previously raced abroad as part of Gertaneh Tessemas global club, won a closer duel with Sintayehu Merga, breaking clear in the final kilometer of the race before reaching the line in 1:03:38. Merga clocked 1:03:49.

Haile Gebrselassie awarded the prizes to all race winners at the event which included a mass 7km race for 2000 participants, a non-elite race over 21km and a series of children’s races.